The present invention relates to an axle assembly, and in particular to an axle assembly including a hubometer mounting arrangement adapted for use in conjunction with a tire inflation system.
A hubometer is a device mounted on an axle of a vehicle that measures the distance traveled. Specifically, the hubometer is designed such that the majority of the device rotates along with the associated wheel except for a peripherally mounted weight located on an internal shaft thereof which remains located at a downward point of the rotation that drives a counting mechanism as the body of the hubometer rotates.
Hubometers are used in a wide variety of vehicle applications. A prior art vehicle axle assembly 10 (FIG. 1) illustrates a hubometer mounting arrangement typically used in conjunction with heavy duty vehicle axle assemblies. In the illustrated example, the vehicle axle assembly 10 includes an axle member 12 supporting a hub assembly 14 and a brake assembly 16 thereon. The axle assembly 10 further supports an axle hub cap 18 secured to an end of the axle member 12 by a plurality of screws 20 spaced circumferentially thereabout.